LANDLORDS BALK AT DERELICT SAN BERNARDINO’S REQUIRED CLASS

Let’s say you have a friend who has made an utter mess of his finances and his life, yet insists on lecturing you about how best to run your personal affairs. You’d be annoyed. And you might understand how some property owners feel now in the city of San Bernardino, 60 miles east of Los Angeles.

The city is bankrupt, thanks to years of overspending. Two councilmen recently have faced felony charges on separate matters. The city is decrepit, and even officials there admit it has been mismanaged for years.

Yet San Bernardino has ramped up a program that instructs law-abiding landlords, including owners of apartment buildings with as few as four units, on how to be responsible members of the community. All cities have rules and regulations. It’s part of the deal, especially in California. But this city is taking it a step further, and sparking a backlash.

Under a 2011 ordinance, all multifamily property owners and managers must pay to attend an all-day class run by city officials who instruct them on the do’s and don’ts of property ownership. It is mandatory for all owners, not just those who have struggled with code problems or crime issues, and not just those who accept government rent subsidies.

The program is required even for owners who live in other states. Officials can make exceptions — i.e., it is not requiring a 99-year-old property owner in Texas to fly to San Bernardino to take the course, but it is expecting her son to show up instead. If owners refuse, the city fines them and puts a lien on their property.

“I am in disbelief that a local city council … can force a citizen, as a condition of doing business in their city, to leave their family, take time off work, and to add insult to injury, pay them money for the privilege of going through training on whatever topic they see fit,” said Chris Riggs, the owner of a six-unit building.

The goal is “to educate everybody as to their rights as property owners and their responsibilities as property owners,” explained Lt. Paul Williams, who leads the program on behalf of the police department’s code-enforcement division.

It has three parts — the class, a mandatory inspection of the property, and an optional training program for residents that enables apartment buildings to become certified as part of this anti-crime program. Williams understands why property owners aren’t happy about a day in class but sees it as a valuable session.

The outline the city sent along seems unobjectionable. It offers information about code requirements, tenant screening, the eviction process, drug problems and fire prevention.

I first thought of it in terms of the driver’s school one takes after getting a ticket, but such classes are optional (you can take the points instead). Such schools also are offered online and, ultimately, are for people who have broken speeding rules. Riggs, who detailed the myriad upgrades he has made to his building, doesn’t want to be locked up for a day, especially since he has done nothing wrong. He calls this is a “bridge too far.”